Our journey up the Nile took us through the Esna Lock

All river cruisers between Luxor and Aswan must go through this lock

The Nile River drops here

Closing the gates

The water level is raised, then lowered

Boats must wait in single file, sometimes for several hours

And the vendors are on the sides selling galabayas!

Time out for a conference along the banks of the locks?

Pylon is decorated with Pharaonic scenes of Ptokemy XII defeating enemies

Hathor, Isis, and Osiris on outer wall ,buried in sand for over 2,000 years

Colonnaded court is best preserved and largest Ptolemaic temple

One of two elegant black granite statues of Horus at entrance to pylon

Note the security cameras as tops of the lotus-shaped columns

Crypt where statue of temple god is carried up to roof to be revitalized by the sun once a year

Other statue of Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, that stands 118 feet high

Ceiling stones showing the stories in vivid colors

Horus fought his uncle Seth, who had murdered Horus's father Osiris

Seth is depicted as a boar

The battle is over!